The Beginning Of The End
by Coz
Summary: [Complete] What happens next? Future story. SamJack (Bad summary but don't know what else to say!)


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Okay, this is my first proper ship story so be nice! Naliza, who was also good enough to beta this, challenged me to write a proper ship fic instead of the UST I normally write!! So this is all her fault!!! ;)

Please let me know if you like it, it's quite a departure from the angst that I normally write so I am really curious about what you all think!!!

I should warn you that this fic contains spoilers for the upcoming series 7 episode "Heroes", if you're trying to remain spoiler free then I wouldn't read this, you have been warned!

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Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter walked up to the bar and ordered six double whiskeys, which she carefully took back to the table where she was sitting with her friends. She was staggering considerably as a result of the alcohol she had consumed during the day. 

Looking round at the assorted group she realised that she was not the only one who was worse for wear. Dr Daniel Jackson was leaning against the wall, his eyes half closed. George Hammond, the former CO of the SGC was slumped back in his chair, a slightly vacant look on his face. Teal'c was sitting up straight but had an uncharacteristic large smile on his face. Jacob Carter was also leaning against the wall. He started laughing hysterically at Daniel, whose mouth had fallen open and as a result had just swallowed a fly.

Brigadier General Jack O'Neill was the most intoxicated of the group, his hands were interlocked on the table and his head was resting on them in a bid to stop the room from spinning.

Sam put the drinks down on the table and passed the glasses around. The thought of more alcohol produced a number of groans from the assembled group but with a surprisingly small amount of encouragement they raised a toast before downing the whiskey in front of them.

Everyone around the table, except Jacob and Hammond, exhibited their disgust at the drinks. Jack exhaled deeply and stuck out his tongue, while Carter screwed up her face and reached for her beer which she drank to get rid of the aftertaste. Almost immediately after swallowing the drink Daniel bolted from the table, knocking his chair to the floor, as he rushed to the bathroom.

Jack made an attempt to stand up but ended up falling back into his chair. This aborted attempt at standing brought Jacob out in a fresh bout of laughter. Teal'c stood and after clapping a hand on Jack's shoulder followed Daniel to the bathroom to check on his condition.

Major Griff and a number of other SGC personnel looked over at the commotion from the next table and began sniggering; they too were obviously very drunk and raised their glasses in a mock toast.

"More drinks," Sam announced loudly, slapping her palm on the table, which was wet with spilt alcohol.

"I think you've had enough Sam," Jacob said slurring his words slightly. He glanced over at his daughter. He had never seen her so drunk before and had it not been such an important celebration he would not have been there.

"I am not drunk dad. I am perfectly sober," Sam said defiantly but her words were slurred.

This statement brought more laughter from Jacob, it was clear to everyone else that she was just as drunk as anyone.

"I really am," she protested, "and anyway, we still have much to celebrate."

"That we do Colonel, that we do. All we need is for Daniel to stop worshipping at the porcelain altar and we can get on with the celebration," Jack said raising his head slightly, his voice surprising steady.

"Good point, General. We need Daniel back, I _taught_ we _thought_ him how to hold his drink," Sam agreed. She did not realise that she had mixed up her words but Jacob had, which became clear as he started laughing at her.

"What?" She asked, still not aware of her gaffe.

"Whose round is it?" Jack asked, again raising his head a few inches off the table.

"It's yours I believe General," Hammond said with a smile, emphasizing the word General.

"Well I'd better go get the drinks then." 

As he tried to stand, he was once again thwarted and had to remain seated. Hammond offered to get the next round and walked slowly but reasonably evenly to the bar.

Daniel returned from the bathroom looking pale and slightly green around the edges but with a dopey smile on his face. Teal'c had lost his smile but his eyes had a slightly glazed look.

"You up for some more Daniel, that is if you've calmed the digestive pyrotechnics?" Sam asked, with a mischievous smile.

"Very funny and I can take whatever you can," Daniel said rashly.

"I think everyone knows that isn't quite true Daniel, judging by what just happened," Jack pointed out.

Daniel simply shrugged and took his seat. Hammond returned from the bar, with what looked like straight vodka in short glasses. As they were passed around the table, Jack sat up straight. He called out to the others in the room, which consisted of around fifteen other SGC officers who were all heavily intoxicated. They all turned immediately to look at him. He struggled to his feet, which he managed to do by using both the table and the wall for support. He raised his glass and gave the most common toast delivered during the night.

"To the end of the greasy-ass Goa'uld."

*~*

Carter staggered to her front door. She waved the taxi away as she managed to open the door. Jacob was staying with Hammond. As the two older men had left hours before Sam it had been decided that it was more practical that way. 

She sat on the couch and tried to take off her shoes, overbalanced and fell to the floor, pushing the couch backwards as she did so. Sitting on the floor laughing hysterically at herself she managed to remove her shoes which she unceremoniously threw across the room. After forcing herself to stand she staggered to her bedroom, peeling off her clothes as she went. Eventually she fell on top of the bed and fell immediately into unconsciousness, still on top of the covers and still half dressed.

She woke four hours later; her mouth was dry, her stomach churning and her head throbbing. With a great deal of difficulty she stood and after stripping off the rest of her clothes and pulling on a robe she walked slowly to the kitchen, her eyes half closed. 

She pulled a bottle of water from the refrigerator and took a sip, not wanting to anger her stomach further. The water seemed to be immediately absorbed by the thirsty tissues of her mouth. She took an even larger mouthful which appeared to give her enough water to swallow. 

She padded back to her bedroom with the bottle of water in one hand. She put the water on the nightstand, dropped the robe on the floor and climbed into bed. She closed her eyes and tried to stop her head from pounding so much, it felt like someone was carrying out a mining operation inside her skull.

The celebration the night before had gone on until the early hours but she had large gaps in her memory and it was not surprising considering the amount of alcohol she had drunk. The celebration had started as a civilised affair but once the official part of the day had finished most of the officers present had gone to the bar. Jack O'Neill, as current Commanding Officer of the SGC, had arranged for it to be closed for the night and staffed by people who knew about the Stargate. Therefore people could say what they wanted without national security being an issue. The four original members of SG-1 had been among the last to leave, even Teal'c had drunk more than his fair share of alcohol and had been suffering as a result.

Eventually she fell back to sleep and woke after a further three hours of sleep. She felt much better but as she sat up the sudden vertical motion caused her stomach to revolt and she could feel the bile begin to rise up her throat. She bolted to the bathroom, trying to curb the nausea. She barely made it to the toilet before her stomach contracted sharply and some of the contents of her stomach were expelled.

After a few minutes, when she figured the nausea had passed enough for her to stand, she brushed her teeth vigorously to get rid of the bitter taste in her mouth but she found it impossible to remove it completely. She took a couple of Tylenol from the bathroom cabinet and washed them down with a large mouthful of water, which made her stomach contract slightly.

She carefully pulled on a pair of sweatpants and an oversized sweatshirt and headed back to the kitchen, opening the fridge in a bid to find something that she could eat with being sick again. Just as she was contemplating her culinary options the phone rang. The shrill noise caused her head to start pounding again, she quickly snatched the receiver.

"Hello," she said, tiredly.

"Carter, how do you feel about going for breakfast?" Jack asked. His voice was strained with exhaustion.

"Sure, why not," she agreed, nothing she had in her fridge appealed to her and she had found that greasy food was a good cure for a hang over.

"You reckon you're up to driving?"

"I don't think so Sir. None of us should be, not with the amount we drank last night."

"Yeah I figured. So how about a nice brisk walk?" Jack asked. Sam could sense the smile in his voice.

"Yes Sir."

"Daniel and Teal'c ended up staying with me, we'll be over in an hour."

"Okay Sir, I'll see you then," she replied, hanging up the phone.

She walked slowly to the bathroom and turned the shower on full, relishing the cleansing properties of the hot water. It also served to relax her tense muscles and ease her pounding head. She remained under the shower until the water began to run cold at which point she shut of the water and dried off before dressing. She chose comfortable clothes - jeans, a comfortable sweater and flat shoes.

The doorbell rang almost exactly an hour after O'Neill had called. She answered the door and found Jack, Daniel and Teal'c standing on the porch. They all looked hung-over and tired, Daniel had a slight bruise forming on his chin.

"What happened Daniel?" Sam asked with concern, she did not remember him doing anything which could have caused a bruise like that.

"I…I don't really remember but some books were knocked off a shelf so I guess I knocked into it last night," Daniel said quietly, not wanting to start his head pounding again. 

"Only you Daniel," Sam said smiling.

"You ready to go Carter?"

"Sure," she replied as she closed the door behind her.

*~*

When Sam returned home afterwards she felt much better. She kicked off her shoes and sat on the couch, after returning it to its original position. As she sat there she thought about what she would do next, with the Goa'uld defeated she did not know if the SGC would continue to exist.

If the SGC was shut down, she had not idea what she would do. After having experienced what she had during her time with SG-1 how could she go and do another job. She could write a book on her discoveries on wormhole physics or multiple realities but unless the Stargate went public she would never be able to explain exactly how she came up with her theories.

The President was due to make an announcement regarding the future of the Stargate programme within the next few days. He had heard the arguments from both sides - both the people who wanted the gate to remain closed and those who wanted to continue exploring the galaxy. The current administration was not particularly a supporter of the programme, nor vehemently opposed to it and so everyone was nervous about the announcement.

Sam thought of all the people who had lost their lives as a result of the fight against the Goa'uld and other hostile races they had met on their travels. The list was long and contained a number of friends. Her best friend, Dr Janet Fraiser had been killed by Jaffa over a year ago. She still missed her; being two of the most senior female officers in the SGC had been the basis of a close friendship between the two women.

She brushed a stray tear from her cheek as she thought about Janet and the others who had died. They had a remembrance ceremony the day before; a plaque had been unveiled in their honour. Until that point Sam had not realised just how many people had died.

She brushed away another tear as she picked up the phone.

"Hello," came the female response as the phone was answered.

"Cassie, it's Sam."

"Hey, I was going to call you later. How was yesterday?"

"It was good, what I remember," she admitted, "you should have come." 

"I had class and stuff," Cassandra said quietly. 

She had pulled away slightly from the SGC personnel since her adopted mother had died. It was not surprising considering what she had been through in her life. Being the only survivor of a Goa'uld attack on her home planet had been bad enough but then losing her adopted mother. SG-1 still treated her as part of the family. Sam had bought a bigger house so that Cassandra could stay with her when she was not away at college.

"I know, how's college going?" Sam asked. She was quite aware of the real reason that Cassandra had decided to stay away from the celebration.

"Fine, too many essays to write but what's new."

"Look, why don't you come and visit this weekend, I haven't seen you for ages and I know the others would love to see you too. General O'Neill said that he missed you and we're all on leave for a week so we've got loads of time to do stuff."

"You know Sam, you are allowed to call him Jack," Cassie said. She had been trying Sam to stop calling him 'Sir' for years, when she realised just how deep the feelings between them ran. She had also been subtly trying to get them together for a while but she understood the military regulations that prevented it from happening.

"You know he's my CO, it would be wrong. Anyway can you come back this weekend?"

"I suppose, I've got tomorrow afternoon off so I'll be there about 6," she relented. She had not seen any of SG-1 for months and she did miss them. It would also give her the opportunity to ask Sam for advice on her physics term paper.

"Great, we can go shopping on Saturday. How about I ask SG-1 round for dinner tomorrow?"

"Fine, I've got a class in ten minutes so I'd better run. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye Cass."

"Bye."

Sam hung up the phone and smiled slightly, it would be nice to see Cassandra and as since no one had to be on the base they had more time to spend together.

*~*

On Friday afternoon Sam went shopping to get food for that night. Jack had offered to barbecue, which would save Sam the embarrassment of having to cook herself.

As she pulled up to her house, she was surprised to see O'Neill's truck parked on the side of the road, as she pulled into the driveway she saw him sitting in the chair on the porch.

"Sir, I thought you weren't coming for another couple of hours," she said, confused as to why he was sitting on her porch.

"I wasn't but then I got a phone call from the President this morning," he said, looking her in the eyes. She tried to read his face but it was totally impassive. 

"Why don't you come in Sir?"

"Thanks," he said following her in and taking a seat in the living room. Sam deposited the grocery bags in the kitchen and went through to the living room.

"So what did the President say?" Sam asked, as she took a seat in the large armchair.

"Basically the SGC will continue its operations."

"Really, that's great," Sam said smiling broadly.

"I won't be in charge anymore though," he continued, closely watching her reaction. She looked shocked, her eyebrows raised and the smile faded.

"Why?" She asked, confused. General Jack O'Neill had been in command when the final, deadly blows had been delivered to the Goa'uld. Therefore to remove him from command did not make sense to her.

"Because of this," he said, pulling a folded piece of paper out of his jacket. He stood up and crossed to where Sam was sitting. He smiled slightly as he handed it to her; her eyes quickly scanned the typed letter.

"Is this what I think it is?" Sam asked. Her eyes locked squarely with Jack's. 

"My request for retirement. The President's accepted it but I get a say in who takes command of the SGC. We don't want another repeat of what happened with Bauer."

"You're really retiring?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I think I've done my bit for the planet. There's more I want to do with my life and with the Goa'uld gone I'll have more time to do it," he said, his smile broadening.

"So what do you have planned?" Sam asked, with a slight smile appearing on her face.

"Well, the first thing I want to do is talk to you."

"Me Sir?" Sam asked. In the back of her mind she thought she knew what he was going to say.

"I've retired now Sam, call me Jack," he instructed. He made a point of using her first name, which is itself was an unusual event.

"Sorry Jack," she said, it was strange for her to call him by his first name.

"I don't know how to say this…we've been working together for a long time. We've been through a lot and I know that we've both noticed something special between us," Jack said slightly nervously. 

He paused and looked at Sam to judge her reaction before he continued. She was smiling broadly, her eyes had lit up and she was watching him closely. Sam nodded. She had acknowledged the feelings between them to herself and when forced to by Anise years before but there were too many obstacles. With the Goa'uld gone and O'Neill retiring these obstacles had been effectively removed.

"I'm retired now, I'm not your CO, so there's nothing from stopping me from doing this," he said slowly.

He bent over her and kissed her, his right hand on her cheek. Sam was slightly shocked but responded to the kiss after a few moments. He pulled away after a couple of seconds. He had a huge grin on his face, which was matched by the smile lighting up Sam's face.

She took a deep breath, looking down at her hands she realised that she was shaking slightly. She exhaled deeply and stood; reaching her arms around his waist she kissed him again. He responded, his hands starting on her back. As the kiss deepened his hands travelled up her back and were in her hair.

They broke after a number of minutes, both slightly breathless but with satisfied smiles on their faces.

"I want to make a go of me and you."

"Me too." Sam replied. The moved together again, tenderly kissing until Sam pulled away.

"I should get a move on if I want to be ready for when Cassandra gets here," Sam said checking her watch.

Sam walked to the kitchen and started preparing salad for dinner. Jack followed her and wrapped his arms around her waist and began gently kissing her neck. Sam laughed slightly. She put down the knife in her hand and reached up and started running her hands through his hair.

They sprung apart as they heard the front door fly open. Cassandra called out as she dropped her bag in the hall.

"Hey Sam, you about? Is that Jack's truck out front?" She called as she walked into the kitchen.

"Hey kiddo," Jack greeted, pulling the teenager into a hug.

"Hey Jack," she replied, smiling. She had missed seeing him, more than she would like to admit.

"Cassie, you're early," Sam said, hugging Cassie.

"Yeah, my last class of the morning was cancelled so I got away earlier."

She looked closely at Sam and Jack; they were both slightly flushed and had enormous smiles on their faces.

"What's up with you two?" She asked.

"Nothing," they both said simultaneously.

Cassandra stayed quiet, she knew that there was something going on. She smiled broadly and started laughing.

"What?" Jack asked, giving her a friendly nudge in the ribs.

"Nothing," she replied, still smiling, "When's dinner, I'm starving? Oh and I brought home some laundry."

"Great, it's lovely to see you," Sam said teasingly. She did really enjoy having Cassandra there.

*~*

Once Daniel and Teal'c arrived, everyone sat in the living room while Jack started to grill the food on the deck outside. Sam and Jack were trying to find the right time to tell everyone that they were a couple. They had been sneaking brief kisses throughout the day, while still trying to keep Cassandra in the dark.

They were talking about the Stargate programme being continued. Neither Daniel nor Teal'c seemed to be aware that Jack had retired and therefore would not have anything further to do with the SGC.

"Jack can you come in here for a minute?" Sam called.

"Whoa, you just called him by his name," Cassandra said in surprise.

"Yeah," Sam replied coyly.

"What's going on guys?" Daniel asked.

Jack came in through the open door, he shared a look with Sam. She raised her eyebrows in question and he nodded slightly.

"We've got something to tell you," Jack said as he sat on the arm of the chair where Sam was sitting.

He reached down and took Sam's hand; they locked their fingers and held hands. Jack leant down and gently planted a kiss on Sam's cheek.

"You're…" Daniel said pointing at them.

"Yeah, we're…" Jack said smiling.

"But what about the regs?" Cassandra asked. 

"I retired," Jack said simply.

Daniel smiled broadly. They had finally managed to be together, something he had wanted for a long time. They both deserved happiness. Teal'c nodded, he had noticed that there were feelings between O'Neill and Carter and was happy that they were finally together.

"When did all this happen?" Daniel asked, still smiling.

"Today, the President called to tell me about the future of the SGC and I told him that I wanted to retire," Jack said, with a slight shrug.

"Isn't that kind of sudden?" Daniel asked, concerned that Jack was rushing into a decision.

"I've been thinking about it for a while actually. With the Goa'uld out of the way I thought I'd take my opportunity now," Jack explained.

"Well congratulations," Daniel said, it was clear that he really meant it.

"Indeed," Teal'c said, with the traces of a smile on his face.

"You took your time," Cassandra said with mock frustration. Everyone turned to look at her. 

"What, like you weren't all thinking the same thing?" She said in her defence.

"Cassandra…" Sam warned the teenager but her voice held no malice. It was full of humour.

"A court martial isn't a lot of fun you know" Jack said humorously in their defence but his statement had a serious undercurrent to it. Everyone present knew that this would have probably been his fate had he pursued a relationship with Sam while he had been her commanding officer and the relationship had been discovered.

"I suppose. I'm really happy for you guys though," Cassie offered, grinning.

"Thanks," Jack said, glad to have the support of his friends. 

"So what's going to happen next?" Daniel asked.

"Well, I thought I'd get back to the food before we end up eating charcoal," Jack said smiling.

He stood and headed back outside to the grill, Daniel looked over at Sam.

"I meant with the SGC, with SG-1," he clarified.

"Well I guess I keep command of SG-1, just under a different General. Jack asked for a say in who takes command as a favour. The President couldn't really say no, considering we just got rid of the Goa'uld," Sam explained.

"So the SGC's just going to continue as before?" Cassandra inquired, she was interested in what would happen next.

"I'm not really sure, operations might be scaled down slightly, it's difficult to say right now. SG-1 shouldn't change though," Sam said. 

She was not sure if this was correct, with a new CO of the SGC you could never be sure what would happen. As long as Jack had a say in who took command after him, it was less likely that SG-1 would be dismantled as it had been when General Hammond temporarily retired years before.

"So what's going to happen next with you and Jack?" Cassie asked impatiently.

"Give us a chance Cassie, this is still new for us too," Sam said, marvelling at the impatience and forwardness of the teenager. 

Sam stood and went outside to the deck. Jack was expertly grilling the food over the hot coals.

"Hey," she said as she approached him. 

As she walked past she brushed her hand across the small of his back. He smiled at her touch as a slight shiver of electricity raced up his spine. It seemed out of the ordinary to have Sam touch him in that way, he had secretly imagined it before but to have it as reality was a new experience. 

It was an equally strange experience for Sam; she found it difficult to call him "Jack". It was harder still to kiss him without unnecessarily worrying what the consequences could be.

Looking over at Jack, who was concentrating on the food, she smiled. She realised that this is what she had wanted for a long time but having waited for so long made it so much better. Now that things were right for a relationship she was glad to be pursuing it. 

With the Goa'uld gone she hoped that her father would be able to spend more time here on Earth, rather than with whatever was left of the Tok'ra. She just needed to find a way to tell him that she was with Jack. She knew that Jacob liked Jack but that had been when he was her CO and nothing more. How he would react to this news was another matter.

She was happier than she had been for in a long while, with the Goa'uld gone and the fact that Jack was finally in her life as more than a friend.

Jack turned and looked over at Sam, she was deep in thought, which was not unusual for her. He wrapped his left arm around her waist; she smiled at the contact and leant her body towards his. As Sam rested her head on his shoulder, he realised that he could not think of anything more that he wanted at this moment.

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So there you have it. Like it? Hate it? Review and let me know!!!


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